Maybe someone should explain to this woman that the reason Spiderman the Movie could be done is because much of it is done with CGI? Hard to replicate on stage. Unless...Maybe if she went with a hologram performance instead. That by now, I am pretty sure, is cheaper.

You go to theatrical performances for excellent sound and visuals. That's what made 'The Lion King' revolutionary. Adding dangerous stuntwork is something better left to Cirque du Soleil, who have more space to work with and don't have to worry about remembering as many lines.

I think part of the problem is that she's lost perspective and is too deep in it to quit.

The funny thing is I've seen the Canadian Opera Company use small pools of water and wire tricks (over that same water) to good effect. The trick was, it was for accent not part of the focus. Since it was about water nymphs, it was used to set the atmosphere.

Between this and the hour and a half (no intermission) "American Idiot" I hope there's a show worth seeing when I finally make to to New York.

Art is suppose to hurtPHA+PGltZyBzcmM9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cubW90aWZha2UuY29tL2ltYWdlL2RlbW90aXZhdGlvbmFsLXBvc3Rlci8wODA1L21vZGVybi1hcnQtbnVkZS1iZWFjaC1kZW1vdGl2YXRpb25hbC1wb3N0ZXItMTIxMTE0Nzg2OC5qcGciIGFsdD0iaW1hZ2UiLz48L3A+

I actually work backstage in the theatre industry. Someone operating the harnesses or flies really needs to put their foot down and tell the director what is possible and safe compared to what is impossible and downright deadly.

Theatres are dangerous places at the best of times but experts are backstage to make it as safe as possible for the crew as well as the actors. I'm not entirely sure whose fault the stunt accidents are for Spider-Man, but when money is involved, it's worth the risks I suppose in the industry.

This production wouldn't even be able to set foot into the foyer of the theatres I've worked at due to Occupational Health and Safety risk assessments in my country. The dangers (and lawsuits) wouldn't be worth assembling the set.

This whole situation has gone beyond "darkly amusing" and well into "what the hell are they thinking" territory.

Moriarty70:I think part of the problem is that she's lost perspective and is too deep in it to quit.

I think you have the right of it. "Her baby" is almost done and ready to show off, and she's probably blind to the issues the production is having because she doesn't want to see it cancelled. Someone with no investment in the entire affair needs to get her head back into reality before some poor actor ends up on the front page for all the wrong reasons- such as under the headline "Spider-Man Stage Actor Killed In Tragic Accident".

The Rogue Wolf: Someone with no investment in the entire affair needs to get her head back into reality before some poor actor ends up on the front page for all the wrong reasons- such as under the headline "Spider-Man Stage Actor Killed In Tragic Accident".

Well, you know, history has it that an actor died in the original production of "Macbeth" written by some guy called William Shakespeare and the rest, I suppose is history...

At first I wondered "who the hell is Stage Managing this show, and why are they letting this happen", but... seriously, I would hate to be in their shoes; I imagine they are under a ton of pressure, and this show sounds like an absolute frigging *nightmare* to have to be in charge of come show night. I mean, the very, very few times in my career that I've had to come on the God mike and speak directly to the audience... I've generally already had a conniption fit in the booth. That sounds like every night for this poor person.

Still though... actor safety comes first. Either the SM's hands are tied (with such a high profile director, you never know...), or... well, who knows. I'd love a peek into the backstage area though.

"The intermission began at 8:19 p.m.; it was still under way 34 minutes later when some in the audience began to clap in unison, as they passed their two-hour mark inside the theater. Mr. White, the production stage manager, then said over the microphone, "I know, guys, I know, I beg your patience," and the clapping stopped."

Wow. Mr. White, dude, I feel for you. That is a *terrible* position to be in.

HigherTomorrow:And once again, another thinly-veiled rant by Elizabeth Grunewald is published, instead of, you know, actual news, or at least an interesting rant. Can we get back to actual news?

You do know this is an op-ed website right? The news part of the Escapist is that little tiny piece of pixels on the right side of the main page. Seriously, do you know what website you're on? Every piece of content this site produces is op-ed. If you want news, go read Gamespot. I have a feeling you'd fit right in.

Yeah, it's going to play for as long as it can sell tickets. Whether or not this was a rant, I did not know about the GM shopping around for a different show or the investor that called it a disaster, so at least I learned something.What a bad position to be in - either stop the show now and sit on $60 million dollars worth of debt or roll the dice and watch the injuries rack up. Rough.

HigherTomorrow:And once again, another thinly-veiled rant by Elizabeth Grunewald is published, instead of, you know, actual news, or at least an interesting rant. Can we get back to actual news?

My thoughts exactly. Just randomly ranting about crap is not news. At least Shamus delivers his rants in an intelligent and logical manner. This article feels like it belongs on fox "news".

Wait, since when has the Escapist ever been a news site? It's certainly had gaming news on it, and it still does, but that's never been the only thing it did. For instance reviews are not and have never been news. Are they not allowed to review games? Are they just not allowed to post things you don't like? I don't get the complaint here.

Wait, since when has the Escapist ever been a news site? It's certainly had gaming news on it, and it still does, but that's never been the only thing it did. For instance reviews are not and have never been news. Are they not allowed to review games? Are they just not allowed to post things you don't like? I don't get the complaint here.

First off, I never said this was a news site. But if you scroll to the top of the page you'll find a button clearly labeled "news". So it does report news, amongst other things. Second, they post stuff I don't like all the time, as they should. I don't know if I like or don't like the Spider-man musical and it's fiasco, but I do know I don't like the way this article was written.

An article with the attention of ranting should be done so in a much more intelligent manner than this. Read any of Shamus Young's rants and you will be able to clearly see the difference in how information is delivered alongside the rants compared to this article. In this article all I get is a sense of "One of us..." See things my way because they are the right way because I said so. Because I am jumping on the hate bandwagon and so should you.

Don't get me wrong, I love a rant as much as the next guy. Cynicism is my oldest friend. But it should be delivered in a fashion that is less preachy. It should be delivered with the intent of the reader making up their own mind based on your solid argument.

I think the people that come to this site for news go to Yahtzee for reviews, if you get my meaning. I hadn't heard about the actor's injury. This just sounds terrible. But seriously, Spiderman, as a musical, sounds terrible.

Let Taymor be her crazy self. As long as this finally convinces Ken Mandelbaum to release an update of his book about Broadway flops, I'll be happy. The Broadway run of Dance of the Vampires didn't, and God knows they tried.

Wait, since when has the Escapist ever been a news site? It's certainly had gaming news on it, and it still does, but that's never been the only thing it did. For instance reviews are not and have never been news. Are they not allowed to review games? Are they just not allowed to post things you don't like? I don't get the complaint here.

First off, I never said this was a news site. But if you scroll to the top of the page you'll find a button clearly labeled "news". So it does report news, amongst other things. Second, they post stuff I don't like all the time, as they should. I don't know if I like or don't like the Spider-man musical and it's fiasco, but I do know I don't like the way this article was written.

An article with the attention of ranting should be done so in a much more intelligent manner than this. Read any of Shamus Young's rants and you will be able to clearly see the difference in how information is delivered alongside the rants compared to this article. In this article all I get is a sense of "One of us..." See things my way because they are the right way because I said so. Because I am jumping on the hate bandwagon and so should you.

Don't get me wrong, I love a rant as much as the next guy. Cynicism is my oldest friend. But it should be delivered in a fashion that is less preachy. It should be delivered with the intent of the reader making up their own mind based on your solid argument.

This wasn't placed under News. It was placed under Features/Columns, along with stuff like Shamus, Yahtzee, and Dr. Mark. This is the editorial section. You're one of those "Never criticize anything because people worked hard on it" types, aren't you?

EDIT:

I understand the show's like nothing that's come before, but at what expense will you share this crazy vision with the world?

Y'know, one of the taglines for Carrie: The Musical was "There's never been a musical like her." And it was horribly accurate.

Dwarfman:Jeez and I thought Shakespeare's MacBe.... ahhh I mean to say 'That Dark Play' was bad enough what with principle actors dying on the opening night!

I'm suprised their union hasn't stepped into this. If it's that dangerous they probably should.

Supposedly they have... the show got postponed until new safety measures could be put into place. They also said that they investigated the incident where the stuntman broke his ribs and basically said that it was the stagecrew's fault, not a mechanical error. Apparently they are going to "vigilantly monitor the production for the safety of its members".

Dwarfman:Jeez and I thought Shakespeare's MacBe.... ahhh I mean to say 'That Dark Play' was bad enough what with principle actors dying on the opening night!

I'm suprised their union hasn't stepped into this. If it's that dangerous they probably should.

Supposedly they have... the show got postponed until new safety measures could be put into place. They also said that they investigated the incident where the stuntman broke his ribs and basically said that it was the stagecrew's fault, not a mechanical error. Apparently they are going to "vigilantly monitor the production for the safety of its members".

So... yeah. We'll see how *that* goes.

Considering Spidey spends a lot of the first act flying over the audience, the balconies, the aisles...